Michael j



(No Model.)

11. DONOVAN.

METALLIC LATH.

Nd. 372,131. Patented 001125, 1887.

N. FEIERS, Phoh-Lilhognphur, Wmhinglon. ILC,

UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL J. DONOVAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

METALLIC LATH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,131, dated October 25, 1887. Application filed May 19, 1887. Serial No. 238,797. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, IVIIOHAEL J. DONOVAN, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California. have invented an Improvement in Metallic Laths; and I hereby declare the followingto'be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.v

My invention relates to improvements in metallic lathssuch as are made singly or in sheets and applied to walls, studding,or ceilings of buildings or rooms to form the proper bond for the mortar to unite and hold firmly upon.

it consists in making the laths or sections tapering and wider at one end than at the other, so that the smaller end ofone section or lath will enter the wider end of the adjacent one and thus make a more secure fastening and joint.

Referring to the accompanying drawings fora more complete explanation of my invention, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 show different forms of these laths. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section taken through the lath, showing the method of overlapping the sections. Fig. 6 is a perspective View showing the overlapping of two sections.

In the manufacture of metallic laths it is customary to make them of sheet metal in lengths suited to the sheets from which they are to be made, the metal being bent or corrugated so as to form a suitable bond. These folds or corrugations are usually made by machinery, and are of the same size throughout their length, so that the only way to attach the laths is to nail them up, each section abutting its end against the end of the next adjacent section. This is apt-to produce cracks at the abutting-point, and, in order to unite these ends more completely and also to hold them more firmly in place and to prevent any drafts or fire that might go through open joints or interstices that might be occasioned by the knocking off of the plastering before or during a fire, and for the additional purpose of making the walls or ceilings water-proof, I

make the laths or sections A A tapering from one end, B, to the other, C, so that one end will be somewhat smaller than the other. These sectionsare then nailed up, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the smaller end of the adjacent section slipping into the corresponding larger end of the next adjacent section, so that they overlap and form a continuous sheet from end to end of as many sections as maybe employed in line without leaving any open joint. By this construction I am enabled to [it the laths or lath-sections together very perfectly, and they may be nailed or fastened in any desired manner much more securely than in single sections which do not overlap. This enables me to make an iron wall or ceiling which is practically fire and water tight.

Fig. 1 shows an end section of the laths A, folded with rounded angles a, each sheetoverlapping the following one at b. Fig. 2 shows an end section in which the folds are made with acute angles. Fig. 3 shows the sheets folded so that the free edge d of each sheet overlaps the depression between itself and the adjacent sheet. Fig. 4 shows the overiap at the. bottom of the depression. In all these forms the taper is made from end to end, so that the meeting ends will telescope, as shown in Fig. 6.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Metallic lath sections or sheets folded or corrugated,with the corrugations made tapering from one end to the other-and secured upon the wall with the larger end of each see tion overlapping the smaller end of the next adjacent section, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereofI have hereunto set my hand.

MICHAEL J. DONOVAN.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, H. C. LEE. 

